


Darker Days

by Vultoni_and_Arnaera



Series: VnA’s Fic Dump - HSC Edition [5]
Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dark Thoughts, Hurt No Comfort, Kinda, M/M, Minor Death Idealization, No Beta, Revenged Ending | R (Henry Stickmin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27603107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vultoni_and_Arnaera/pseuds/Vultoni_and_Arnaera
Summary: He stole and had his heart stolen, became a chief and a lover, fell in love and then from the airship.Henry didn't expect to wake up after that.But he did, in the company of a stranger and with more metal in his body than before.He tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered life.It doesn't work.
Relationships: Right Hand Man/Henry Stickmin
Series: VnA’s Fic Dump - HSC Edition [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002828
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	Darker Days

**Author's Note:**

> So I broke down and wrote a sequel.
> 
> The title is another reference to the song Black Water by Of Monsters and Men that the first fic was named after. This time its from a line in the chorus: "darker days are reigning over me". If I didn't prefer short titles I would've included the whole thing.
> 
> Cross-Posted on tumblr at vultoni-and-arnaera.
> 
> Feedback of any kind is always appreciated!

He has the railing in a death grip. One hand of flesh and blood and the other of alien metal clasp it tight, keeping his aching body vertical. If he hadn't managed to grab onto it, he would've ended up on the deck of the ship.

None of that registers to Henry. He can only stare up into the endless blue of the sky.

"They went south, about ten hours ago," the strange doctor says. She's walked up behind him, watching him through those pink-lensed glasses.

Ten hours. That's a hell of a head start for the airship. Over miles of open water, surely they're out of reach. 

But he can feel the flight systems in his new cybernetics. With the wings and rocket propulsion, he could catch up to them.

He pauses. Catch up and do what, exactly?

A corner of his mind hisses _vengeance. Make that snake pay for his treachery in blood._

Another voice sings a sweeter suggestion: _love. He's still waiting for you to come home._

The two options swirl around in his mind. He wants to be back with Right, to feel that gentle touch from hands that could easily crush him. That restrained strength, knowing just how careful Right was with him, made Henry's heart flutter.

But at the same time anger roars in his bloodstream. He hungers for retribution, to see Reginald face the consequences of betraying him. Henry wants to make Reginald regret ever crossing him.

It's with a sinking feeling that he realizes there's no separating the two. No matter which he picks, he will be forced to confront the other.

He can't go back to Right without seeing Reginald again, and he can't seek vengeance without involving his love.

It's a no-win scenario.

Henry slumps against the railing, all the frenzied strength leaving him. He can't do anything, not without losing something else.

Hot tears slide down his face. He can't separate the anguished tears from the ones borne of anger, the two mixing like the conflicting emotions in his chest.

It'll be best if he never goes back at all.

He falls to his knees, still crying as the reality sets in.

"Here, let me help."

He doesn't fight her as she lifts him to his feet. The pain from the fall, from the surgery, from the metal grafted onto his body hits him full-force.

She helps him back into the cabin. He goes without protest.

It's like the fight has been knocked out of him. It certainly feels like he's been sucker punched in the chest.

Henry sits back on the bed he woke up in. He's so tired he could just lay down and go back to sleep.

There's a couple of questions he wants answered first.

"Why did you help me?"

The doctor turns back to him. There's an easy smile on her face.

"You needed help. Would have died if not for me."

There's a chill that rises under his skin. It has nothing to do with the metal that was now a part of him.

"No other reason?"

Being indebted to someone like this never ended well. Too many times in the past had someone saved his skin only to turn around and ask for something in return.

"None. You owe me nothing."

He's still suspicious. People who would help someone without expecting compensation were few and far between, and nonexistent among criminals.

But for the moment he lets it go. Until she reveals an ulterior motive, he'll just have to watch his back.

"You said you crossed paths with the Toppat Clan before? How?"

She hums, eyeing him casually.

"Patched up a few members once. They offered me a position. I politely declined," she says.

That jogs his memory. He'd read a file reporting a similar incident. He tries to draw the name of the doctor to mind.

It clicks.

"You're Dr. Vinschpinsilstien. I've heard of you."

It was just a mention in a much larger file, but saving the life of the chief of the Toppat Clan, not to mention leaving a good impression on said chief, was quite notable.

"Oh? Where from?"

There's a glint in her eyes that isn't coming from her glasses. She's watching him carefully when she speaks.

"Not many people know who I am."

Henry shrinks back, realizing what he just revealed. If she had a grudge against the Toppat Clan, he may have just shot himself in the foot.

Well it's not like he has anything better to do, or anywhere to go. He burned all his bridges when he took over the Toppat Clan, and now that was closed to him too.

"You patched up a former chief years ago. Left quite the impression, too."

She chuckles, "so you are a Toppat. I had my suspicions but wasn't certain."

He doesn't quite know how to react to that. A shrug is the only response he can formulate.

"Confused?" she asks, her soft laughter fading.

_Very._

"I'm not going to kill you if that's what you're wondering. Toppat or no, you're still human and still needed help. Would you mind if I asked some questions?"

He shakes his head. He's got nothing left to lose.

"How did you end up in the bay?"

The memory crowds into his mind. Wind tearing at him as he clings to a gloved hand, cold snow and even colder water, feeling terror and betrayal and hatred all mixing into one unidentifiable mass in his chest.

He'd trusted Reginald in some twisted way.

He should have known better.

"Dropped," is all he says in reply.

"You were thrown out?"

A nod.

"Why?"

He shrugs, not wanting to answer. The anger still simmers in his veins, but it's kept in check by the frigid reality.

If he goes back with the intent to kill Reginald, there's no way he can do it without involving Right. After taking his position back, Reginald would have his right hand with him at all times.

Getting him alone wouldn't be an option.

And if there was one thing Right was known for, it was his loyalty. He wouldn't stand by as his chief was attacked. He would defend him to his last breath, just like what happened during their bloody first meeting.

 _He didn't protect you_ , a poisonous voice says in his head, _he could have but he didn't._

_He let you fall._

Henry curls his hands into fists. He didn't know that. There were many reasons Right couldn't have been there.

But his traitorous mind won't listen to reason. It only drives home the point he's desperately not been thinking about further home.

Any attempt at vengeance would force Right to pick a side, his closest friend or his lover.

He can't do that to him. Henry has already caused him enough pain.

The toxic voice speaks up again.

_He won't choose you. He'll never choose you._

It's better if he lets Right think he died.

It's better for the both of them. Henry doesn't think he could take a betrayal from him too. He'd shatter completely, following his broken heart. At least this way he could hold on to the hope in his mind.

He wouldn't know the truth, but that was okay. His fears would remain just that way, as fears. He wouldn't be forced to know the harsh reality.

Henry feels like a coward, running from the mess he created. What would Right think, knowing he was alive but too scared to face him?

At least he was betrayed when they were still in love. He didn't want to ruin it by dragging his ugly, vengeful side into their relationship. Their love may not have been perfect, but it felt too precious to touch with hands that wanted to be stained with blood.

The sound of water dripping onto metal brings him out of his head. At some point he'd started crying again, and the tears ping off his metal arm.

Henry wipes away the tears with his organic hand but more stream over his fingers.

He can't stop crying. The tears are endless as he finally lets go. He curls in on himself, letting the emotions overwhelm him. Sadness and rage and betrayal and desolation and a hundred other conflicting emotions pour from him in choking sobs.

He lets them. There's no reason to fight it, not anymore.

At some point, Dr. Vinschpinsilstien wraps a blanket around his shoulders. She leaves him to cry in peace.

He's grateful. The solitude lets him fall apart completely.

He has nothing left.

Nowhere to go, nothing he can do to fix the mess he's made.

And the only person who would grieve for him is better off thinking he's dead.

Maybe he should have died in that water.

It would have been better than this.

Better than this hopelessness and crippling isolation.

All he has now is a broken body that isn't even fully his anymore, the kindness of a stranger, and the memories of his lover, the best thing to ever happen to him.

**Author's Note:**

> I have another fic planned for this au, but I'm busy with irl stuff at the moment.


End file.
